As Search Engine Land first reported in October of 2015, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) determined that Google violated Russian competition laws by banning phone manufacturers from preinstalling competitors’ apps, and requiring those same phone manufacturers to preinstall selected Google apps on Android in exchange for access to the Google Play Store.

Well, after nearly 20 months of negotiations, a voluntary settlement was reached on April 17 of this year. According to the FAS press release:

Google will no longer demand exclusivity of its applications on Android-based devices in Russia; Google will be obliged not to restrict pre-installation of any competing search engines and applications (including on the default home screen); Google will refrain from stimulating pre-installation of the Google search as the only general search engine[…].

About The Author

Brendan McGonigle is the Director of US Business Development for Yandex, Russia's largest search engine. Prior to joining Yandex, Brendan spent several years building and growing VacationHomeRentals.com until its acquisition by Tripadvisor. After a stint with Tripadvisor, Brendan joined Yandex to assist US-based companies with their business in Russia and neighboring CIS markets. When he's not chatting digital and collecting cross-Atlantic airline miles, Brendan enjoys running marathons, hiking and pumpernickel bagels.